Fr Kevin McNamara told the Irish Times that the move was in response to an invitation, at a carols service before Christmas, to write the names of loved ones on large boards.

Such was the level of interest in the idea that the priests decided to hold a special Mass on Sunday which was attended by about 800 people.

“The placing of the names – headed, Your Loved Ones will be Remembered – alongside the crib was a positive statement for those who had left. We are telling them they are not forgotten,” Fr McNamara told the paper.

Church to condemn state in a hard-hitting campaign to oppose the irish governmentGoogle images